MWB Business Exchange sponsors of THE MEETING PLACE IN BRIEF
• The Brewery's new hotel, the 200- room Montcalm London City, has opened its doors to incentives groups. The Brewery itself is situated close to Spitalfields and can host groups of up to 750 for seated dinners, 1,000 for drinks receptions and 900 for a conference. Menus are tailored to clients' preferences, ranging from five-course gala meals to 'London street food' such as fish and chips.
• ChurCh House Conference Centre in Westminster has reopened following its annual week-long closure for refurbishment in August. Additions costing around £200,000 include the installation of a wifi network and work on the Great Smith Street entrance, including sliding glass doors to enable easier disabled access. Church House Conference Centre is a Grade II listed building with views of Westminster Abbey and nineteen different rooms.
• GREAT Hotels of the World has launched a new RFP tool on its website. John Clarke, director of sales and marketing at Great Hotels commented: "The new tool will allow us to stream- line the RFP process and take away the unnecessary form filling. It allows for briefs to be uploaded so planners do not have to repeat themselves." The hotel marketing group offers a free venue finding service.
• SCarborough Spa has completed a £6.5million, 12-month project in a bid to attract major conferences and events. The Grade II Victorian building now has state-of-the-art facilities and can host up to 3,000 delegates with 2,000m2 of exhibition space, plus dedicated inhouse banqueting and sound and visual teams. The venue has already secured 20 events this year worth over £3.5million.
• ICONIC London building Somerset House has launched a small meetings package. Usings its Navy Boardrooms, Portico Rooms and Screening Room, the venue will be able to cater for up to 100 delegates. The collection of rooms, priced at £2,000 + VAT for all-day hire, offer uninterrupted views of the River Thames. In order to encourage their usage, planners will be rewarded with the third event for free when a series of three bookings are confirmed.
• CONFERENCES UK has introduced a new dual-model service for conference organisers, meaning they can now also contact venues directly to complete bookings. Managing director Simon Thompson explains: "There was a demand for a venue search engine that enabled clients to book directly with key conference and banqueting contacts. We continue to offer a bespoke venue finding service at no extra cost."
➔ York Barbican open HBAA UPDATE
PETER DUCKER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HOTEL BOOKING AGENTS ASSOCIATIONA (HBAA)
JULY 1ST saw the enactment of the UK Bribery Act, of which there has been a great deal of debate. One thing is for sure – clients will add a new raft of questions to their RFP as they do their due diligence with agents and hotel suppliers on the subject. We ran a very good seminar on
the subject at a recent meeting, presented by Transparency International. Many of the questions afterwards dealt with the relationship between the agent and the supplier and the remuneration models. There is a mass of general advice
THE York Barbican, previously know as the Barbican Centre, has reopened for business following a £2million investment. Leading venue operator SMG Europe Holdings Limited reopened the venue, which hosts up to 2,000 delegates and has an in-house catering team, two bars and the Fishergate Restaurant. The audotorium can host large conferences as well as dinners for up to 400 people. There are also two large foyer areas designed for drinks receptions or networking events, while six syndicate rooms
provide a breakout space for larger events, team-building activities or small group workshops. Laura Freer of York & Scarbor-
ough Conferences, adds, “York Barbican provides an exciting addition to the city’s existing conference product and it is ideal for organisers looking for a unique and flexible venue. “As well as hosting an estimated
350 events and 50 conferences a year, the new venue expects to bring an annual boost of between £9million and £11million to the York economy,” adds Freer.
VIRTUAL CHELTENHAM RACE COURSE
out there for every business about their responsibilities and the need for adequate procedures. And others have commissioned studies on the impact of events – whether corporate events or hospitality – so it made sense for us to focus on that precise area and commission Industry Specific Guidance. It’s doing things like this that really
EVENT planners weighing up the merits of Cheltenham Race Course can now take an online tour of the facilities thanks to the launch of a five-minute video explaining what's on offer at the venue. The racecourse can host concerts
for up to 4,000 people but also has facilities suited to small business meetings, conferences and exhibitions. The video presentation features the voice of conference
and events manager Susie Bradshaw. She says, “Event organisers don’t always have time to visit potential venues, but this virtual tour gives them the chance to see us without leaving their desks. There really is a room for every corporate occasion of every size. Plus, good rail and road links mean we're just two hours from London, 50 minutes from Bristol and 45 minutes from Birmingham.“
help trade associations add value for their members. By doing this once on behalf of everyone and sharing the advice, not only have we saved dozens of similar briefs being individually given by members, but we have also arrived at a well defined consensus for everyone to adopt moving forward. It was heartening to learn that the common practices in our industry pass muster, and most useful to look at the importance of transparency in the relationships with clients – which has long been common practice, but is now more important than ever. We chose to run the seminar as a 'hybrid event' – a live meeting broadcast on the internet, a format we believe is the way forward for short seminars. We had a live audience of about 60 in the room and a further 150 watching from points around the UK. Obviously our members are massive fans of live events, but everyone agreed that hybrids have a very real place in the industry too. It was a bonus that we were able to demonstrate to members how effective they can be. We are now limbering up for our largest event – the Annual Forum - which takes place in Manchester on September 8th-9th. The theme this year is “Future Vision” and it focuses on the need to plan strategically for the future.
www.hbaa.org.uk
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